IOUSA: Billionaires say US debts need attention

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Two billionaires used the screening of a documentary in theaters across the United States on Thursday to urge the country to come to grips with its staggering debt load.

Warren Buffett and Pete Peterson were at the premiere of the movie “I.O.U.S.A.” to add their views to the film’s message: An economic disaster will befall the nation if the federal government’s $53 trillion in debts continue to grow.

But Buffett said at a news conference before the movie’s showing that he doesn’t think the country’s financial picture is quite as dire as the filmmakers portray.

“I do not regard our national debt as unduly alarming,” said Buffett, who is chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., and is listed by Forbes magazine as the world’s richest man.

Buffett said he’s confident the country will be able to address its debts and remain prosperous, but he doesn’t want to see the share of the U.S. gross domestic product devoted to debt continue to grow.

“We’ve overcome things far worse than what is going on right now,” Buffett said, who was interviewed in the movie but is not backing it financially.

The film that was shown Thursday in 358 theaters nationwide details the federal government’s debts. The movie is backed by Peterson — who co-founded the Blackstone Group LP private equity firm and served as commerce secretary under President Nixon — and is part of his foundation’s campaign to give the ballooning debt a central role in the presidential campaign.